For writers who hope to attract readers to books they publish outside the mainstream, publishing either with indie publishers or self-publishing on ebooks, the difficulty in attracting readers is breaking through the noise — “‘Signal-to-noise ratio’ is sometimes used informally to refer to the ratio of useful information to false or irrelevant data in a conversation or exchange.” (Wikipedia)

For indie-published writers, the “noise” is the avalanche of published material: books, magazines, newspapers, comic books, online texts, cereal boxes and toothpaste tubes. The modern world is swimming in text. Making a publishing splash on your own that anyone notices is probably equal to the chances of anyone paying attention to a stone that a (fictional and conveniently located) tourist tosses into the thundering plunge pool under Niagara Falls. Self-promotion is a must when the writer tosses her book into the stream of books that makes up the literary Niagara Falls.

Self-promotion is necessary, and I think there are ways to do it without making people cringe when they see/hear your name. I think supporting other writers is equally as important. We need to help each other spread the word.

The idea of helping each other gives me a good feeling, Kelly. We writers know what our colleagues pour into their work, especially now that sustained self-promotion is part of the job, so mutual support is even more important (especially since sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris is rarely part of the deal).